Thane ex-corporators back Shinde, district heads, shakha pramukhs likely to follow

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The split in the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena seems to be far from over. In yet another setback to the group, 66 of the 67 former Sena corporators from the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), whose term ended earlier this year, have pledged their support to the faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
The 66 former corporators, led by former mayor and former Thane district head Naresh Mhaske, had met Shinde at his bungalow in Mumbai late Wednesday.
Apart from Thane, around 30 former Sena corporators Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) have also extended their support to Shinde. While NMMC’s term had ended in 2020, TMC’s term ended earlier this year. Elections to both are likely to be held after monsoon.
After Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), whose term has also ended, TMC is the most crucial civic body in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
The Sena has had a strong grip on Thane in the last three-and-a-half decades and Shinde had played a crucial role to ensure this. Apart from Thane, Sena also controlled other civic bodies in Thane, Raigad and Palghar with Shinde managing the party’s affairs in these districts.
Last month, Shinde had launched a rebellion against the Sena, leading to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
With the split in the Sena, many former corporators and office-bearers in Thane, Raigad and Palghar are now on the verge of pledging their allegiance to Shinde directly or indirectly, said sources.
While after TMC, Shinde’s major goal would be to bag BMC, but it would be a challenge as among the 12 MLAs from Mumbai, only three have joined him. The others have remained with Thackeray.
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